The P45 Club has some pretty illustrious members. The late Steve Jobs, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg were all fired at some point in their early careers, while Madonna — before becoming the queen of the conical bra — was reportedly given the boot from Dunkin’ Donuts in Times Square for squirting jelly on a customer.

Now, though, with some economists mentioning the possibility of a triple dip next year, workers feel under even greater pressure to have staying power — to be more Arsene Wenger than Roberto Di Matteo or more Louis Walsh than Kelly Rowland. And yet, according to a survey of 20,000 employees carried out by CEB (formerly the Corporate Executive Board), 55 per cent of workers already admit that they are struggling to cope with the stress their jobs put them under. Conrad Schmidt, global research officer for the CEB, says: “Having seen employers squeeze more and more out of their workforces since we began our research in 1998, we may now be reaching the limit of what workers can handle.” Moreover, new measures being brought in by the Government will soon make it easier for companies to fire staff.

So how — without pitching a tent to sleep in the office or becoming an even greater slave to spreadsheets — can you make yourself the Mr or Ms Invincible of the workplace, with the sticking power of superglue? Here are five ways to help make yourself unsackable.

Suck up to the IT Crowd

Geeks already seem to be inheriting the earth, and their importance in the workplace is increasing accordingly. As the technology of the office becomes more complicated, having a strong relationship with tech support should mean you spend less time twiddling your thumbs, waiting for them to come and save you from an error screen of doom or — in the case of MacBooks — the spinning beachball of death. Put Roy and Moss on your Christmas card list now.

Don’t be a wallflower

It’s un-British to shout about your talents, and no one likes the office braggart, but it clearly helps if your boss knows that you’re doing a good job. Even better if your bursting contacts book means she or he hears it from someone outside the company. The important thing is to seem invaluable: make sure colleagues and clients know about any specific expertise you possess that they might come to rely on. Be keen to step up: if, for example, you’re asked to represent the company publicly, do it and prepare properly.

It pays to become part of the furniture, though

There’s some truth in the adage, “Last one in, first one out”, but that isn’t really about corporate loyalty. After all, businesses aren’t exactly known for showing sentimentality when it goes against the bottom line. Instead, the CEB’s research suggests that employees will, on average, be at their most productive when they have 15 years of experience. Which means we may not see the back of Louis Walsh on X Factor until after he has hit “peak productivity” in 2019.

Be flexible

More than half of employees say they have experienced major upheaval in their workplace in the past 12 months. That means staff need to be adaptable and unfazed by change. The number of people employees have to work alongside is also rising, so you should also show your boss you are not a lone-wolf, out for yourself, but can work well in large teams.

Behave!

This one seems incredibly obvious but it is notable how many workers forget simple decorum. Then there are those who fail to engage brain with spectacular results: from the possibly apocryphal story of the worker in the US whose drug test showed he was pregnant (he had asked his girlfriend to give a urine sample, fearing he would fail) to insurance broker Sebastian Marsh, who was fired last year after the ungallant emails he sent about a friend’s ex became an internet phenomenon. In fact, people are more likely to be axed for social interactions than for performance — and technology has exponentially increased the ways we can embarrass ourselves — and our workplaces.

In the more brutal arenas such as the City, where cuts often need to be made, misbehaviour is the perfect excuse for you to get the chop. As the season of Christmas parties approaches you might want to remember that before you engage in some buttock-Xeroxing or boss-wrestling.